Soccer-AFC suspends Guam official who pleaded guilty in US bribery case

Reuters Staff

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April 28 (Reuters) - FIFA audit and compliance committee member Richard Lai was provisionally suspended by the chairman of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee on Friday after the Guam official pleaded guilty to charges of fraud.

Lai, who has been president of the Guam Football Association since 2001, pleaded guilty to charges that he took close to $1 million in bribes in exchange for using his influence within the FIFA and agreed to pay $1.1 million as part of the plea.

"The Chairman...has provisionally suspended Richard Lai from football with immediate effect under the AFC's Disciplinary and Ethics Code following Mr Lai's guilty plea to charges relating to fraud at a court appearance in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday evening," the confederation said in a statement.

"The AFC will make no further comment until the investigation process is completed," it added. (Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)